ECB To Greece: Sell The Last Remains of Your Country And Institute Permanent Austerity

[W]hy is the ECB sounding and acting like common thugs? They are heavily leaning on Greece like old school loan sharks. Europe is in a desperate situation which calls for desperate measures. They cannot allow Greece to get out from underneath their heels. Greeks are on the verge of a very important election that could mean they walk away from previous ECB and IMF commitments. There are talks of throwing Greece under the bus if necessary. Europe will cut off Greece from further stimulus and make use of their debt they bought up to damage them as an example to others.

Continued access to European Central Bank funding for Greek banks depends on completing a final review of prior bailout funds and negotiations for future plans between the country and its int’l lenders, the ECB said. Polls for a Jan. 25 election give an edge to a leftist party that wants to renege on earlier agreements.

Polls show that the Syriza party of Alexis Tsipras is currently leading the field three weeks ahead of the January 25 general election.

If it gets into power, it has promised to end the stringent austerity measures imposed on the debt-stricken country in return for a €240 billion bailout by the so-called “troika” of the European Union, ECB and International Monetary Fund.

The party also wants to re-negotiate its bailout repayments, including a write-off of half the amount owed to the EU, by far the country’s largest creditor.

Syriza has seen its popularity soar as Greeks become increasingly dissatisfied with austerity measures blamed for huge unemployment, wage cuts and spiralling poverty.

But Trichet insisted that there was nothing unfair about the spending cuts the Greek government has been forced to implement by its creditors.

“The Greeks were, thanks to poor management repeated year-after-year from the creation of the euro until the end of 2009, in a situation of huge deficit and they asked the rest of the world to finance their overspending.

“They returned to a balance – do not talk of austerity in Greece but a return to equilibrium.”

The ECB is still buying Greek debt to drive them further into a corner, let’s make note of the important bits:

– European bankers see Greece as the weak link in the chain. If there is a Grexit then most assuredly the country will be in dire straits but it will keep all the other countries in line.

– Unless they are rigged, elections are a source of instability for central bankers. The Euro is at an all time low, QE is on the table and EU is handing over billions to Ukraine to lure them closer.

– The overriding theme of the elections in Greece is about austerity. Cyprus and Greece have been the red-headed stepchildren of Europe and the world will be watching. It will be the will of the people vs the will of the banksters.

– Prosperous nations in Europe grow ever so tired of bailing out their neighbors. Germany is losing steam and on the verge of a recession. The collective belts of Europe will be tightening and those problem nations eventually will be left to their own devices.